The (Jazz) Fenton Menace
by FiveRivers
Summary: What is Jazz Phantom to do when an invisible ghost starts harassing her little brother? Fight, of course! A gift for Phantasma-9.


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Jazz knew there was a ghost around. She always knew when there was a ghost around. It was a fringe benefit of half-dying, along with the superpowers.

The problem here was, she couldn't see it. And it was harassing her little brother.

This had revealed a number of disturbing things about her family.

Firstly, her parents were full-on lunatics. She didn't use this term lightly. Despite complications imposed by her questionable life-status, she fully intended to be a psychologist someday.

She had, of course, always known that her parents were weird. As she had gotten older, and her vocabulary had expanded, shee had deemed them first crackpots, then, more kindly, eccentrics. Today, however, she had determined that there was a better term.

"'Spin the crazy out of him?'" she shouted as Danny, her little brother, leaned dizzily into her side. "What is _wrong _with you? What's next? Electroshock therapy? _Shocking_ the crazy out of him?"

"Hey!" said Jack. "That's not a bad idea, Jazzy-pants!"

"No! It's a terrible idea! Electroshock therapy has been discredited for ages! Have you considered that there _is _a ghost? That's the conclusion you've jumped to literally every other time!"

"A ghost that we can't see?" said Maddie in the tone of someone trying to be reasonable.

"They _can _turn invisible," Jazz shot back.

"Yes, dear, but not selectively invisible. If there was a ghost, we'd see it, too."

Jazz bit back a retort about how that wouldn't be the strangest ghost power she had ever seen. Instead she said, "Even if there isn't a ghost, this isn't how you go about handling this kind of thing! You get a ther-" she cut herself off. Danny had taken the whole Spectra incident poorly, and she doubted he would trust another therapist for a long time. "You get away from the stimulus causing the problem, or something! You get away from the stress, and take a break." Not as definitive or as correct as she would have liked, but whatever. It wasn't as if her parents were going to take her advice, anyway. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take Danny upstairs, so he can recover from this."

With that, Jazz pulled a still-wobbly Danny up the stairs. She stopped once they got to the kitchen, closing the door at the top of the stairs.

"Hey," she said to Danny, "are you okay?"

Danny bobbed his head. "Yeah," he said, hoarsely, "just think of it as astronaut training, that's a-" he broke off, head snapping up, eyes focusing on something only he could see. At the same time, Jazz's ghost sense went off.

The ghost was here.

"Where is it?" asked Jazz, voice low.

Instead of answering right away, Danny flinched, hard, arms coming up to protect his face. Jazz, growing angrier with the unseen ghost by the heartbeat, seized a spare blaster from the kitchen table. It was half-disassembled, and completely nonfunctional, but it would work as cover for Jazz's ectoblasts.

"Th-There!" said Danny, pointing with one shaky finger. Jazz fired off several shots in the general direction.

"Did I get it?" she asked as Danny cringed at the added burn marks on the ceiling.

"No," said Danny, miserably. He slumped, staring at his feet. "He got away." Then he looked up, hopeful. Jazz frowned at the deep, dark circles under his eyes, his paper-pale skin. This had been going on for far too long. "But- But you believe me? You don't think I'm crazy?"

"Of course I believe you," said Jazz. "Come on, let's get upstairs. When was the last time you slept?"

"Dunno."

Jazz sighed heavily. "Okay," she said. "Hey, uh." Crap, there was no way for this next question to sound natural, it was going to be really suspicious, but maybe Danny wouldn't notice, considering how out of it he was. "The ghost that's bothering you, what does it look like?"

"You mean, like, which one it is?" asked Danny.

"Yeah."

"It's Youngblood. From the time all the adults got kidnapped. And you, I guess."

Jazz winced. That had not been the best moment in her career as a superhero. She had poor compatability with Ember. She was vulnerable to Ember's musical mind control, though not to the same extent as a normal human, and the ghost had gotten her. Twice. It was embarassing.

The second time, with the cruise, Danny, his friends, and Spike, had saved the day by taking charge of the remaining teenagers, and leading them on an assault on Youngblood's ship. Spike had snapped her out of it just in time for her to prevent Danny from being thrown off the ship (and splattering on the streets below).

She hadn't seen Youngblood then, either, but Spike had, as well as enough other students for her to get a good description.

"Okay," said Jazz as they climbed the stairs. "He's gone now, though, right? I'll turn on the ghost shield, and you can get some sleep."

"I can't stay under a ghost shield forever," said Danny.

"Specter deflector?" she suggested weakly, hating herself for even suggesting that torture device.

Danny gave her a very odd look, one that had her questioning whether or not he _knew_ yet again.

"How about we talk about it in the morning?"

"Whatever," said Danny. He opened the dooe to his room. "I'm going to bed."

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"What do you mean, don't go to school?" asked Jazz, squinting suspiciously up at her parents. They didn't think that the teachers had been replaced by ghosts _again,_ did they? "We can't just not go to school."

"We've decided to take your advice, Jazzy!" said Jack.

"We're going on a Fenton family camping trip!" finished Maddie. "No ghosts allowed."

Jazz felt her eye twitch. The _one _time they took her advice, and it was the _one _time she had given bad advice.

"We're supposed to fill out a prearranged form when we skip school for a trip," said Danny, coming to Jazz's rescue.

"No worries, Danny boy! We'll just call you in sick!"

"Dad," tried Jazz, "my grades-"

"Will be fine, like they always are!" said Jack.

With the added strain of ghost hunting, that was no longer a given. Jazz had to work very hard to keep her grades up, and several times they had dropped dangerously close to Bs. All that had saved her was that she was so far ahead in most subjects that she was taking correspondence courses from the community college, and could more or less learn on her own terms. (Her own terms often being three in the morning, after tossing the Box Ghost back through the portal for the umpteenth time.)

"What about _Danny's _grades?" she tried.

Danny gave her a weak glare. Generally, he also got As, with the occasional B, but he had to work much harder at them. Since the ghosts started showing up, his grades had begun to slowly drop, speeding their descent following Spectra's manipulation, and now with _this..._ But Jack laughed it off.

"That's why we're doing this!" he shouted. "Once Danny isn't crazy anymore, his grades will be back to normal!"

"I'm not crazy," muttered Danny.

Thus, despite Jazz's protests, they got into the GAV ("It's just an RV this weekend, sweetie!") and drove off.

Of course, Jack and Maddie weren't about to go camping in the nearby state park, as normal people might do in this situation. No. They had to drive what felt like halfway across the country to the Four Corners. Why? Jazz didn't know. She tried to console herself with the notion that, perhaps, it would be too far for the ghost to follow Danny, but, by the midpoint of the trip, both she and Danny had sunken into a state of sullen resentment.

Then Jazz's ghost sense went off. She groaned, and looked over at Danny. His attention was fixed on something outside the window.

"Is he here?" she asked, quietly.

Danny nodded, mute.

Jazz weighed her options. She could probably go into the bathroom and transform without anyone noticing. Sure, Danny would be upset that she had left him, but she could go fight the ghost. The ghost that she couldn't see. Hm. That plan needed more work. A lot more work.

"Well," she said, "it can't get you in here, with the defenses up and all. Just stay inside."

"But what about Mom and Dad? And you?"

"Come on, they're still in their jumpsuits. You think they don't have fifty guns up their sleeves? Each?"

This elicited a weak giggle from Danny. Jazz continued to think about the problem. Early on, when this first began, she had hoped to use the Fenton Finder, but it was still disassembled on a lab table back home. She had, out of necessity, convinced her parents that it was broken some time ago. Then she had considered the boo-merang, but it was locked on to her, and only her, ectosignature, and she didn't know how to change it.

Which meant that she had exactly zero ideas. None. Zilch. Nada. Not unles she counted 'shoot blindly' and 'spray and pray' as ideas. She didn't.

Except, maybe... But it would be hard on Danny... But it was already hard on Danny... She didn't have a lot of other options.

"If he does show up," she said, "try to find out why we can't see him. Maybe we can counter it, somehow."

"Okay," said Danny, dubiously. He glanced back out the window.

"Here," said Jazz. "Just don't look."

"But what if he does something?"

"Like what?" asked Jazz.

Danny blinked up at her, the burst veins in his eyes quite visible. "I don't know," he said, finally. "Something."

"Why don't you try to get some sleep," said Jazz. "How much did you get last night?"

"Not enough." Danny rubbed his eyes, then looked back out the window. "He's still there," he whined.

"I'll keep an eye out," said Jazz. "Go to sleep."

Between stress, lack of sleep, and the long car ride, Danny failed to grasp the logical flaws in Jazz's promise. "Okay," he said again. "I'll try."

Not long after, Danny was asleep, if somewhat fitful, and Jazz was the one anxiously looking out the window. She didn't know how to fix this.

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When they got to the camp, a rather nice location near a river, and started setting up, Jack and Maddie let Danny stay in the RV. They were here to let him rest, after all, Jazz argued.

They got the tents up without the ghost putting in another appearance (or non-appearance), and Danny was coaxed out of the RV with the promise of hotdogs and Fenton S'mores (which, Jack insisted, were much better than _normal _s'mores). Jazz let herself hope that they had outpaced Youngblood.

Even so, Jazz fully intended to stay awake, to keep an eye out for spectral malefactors... or whatever her parents were calling them recently. But she hadn't gotten any sleep on the tide over, and they'd set out so early, and she had gotten into her sleeping bag to satisfy her parents... It really wasn't a surprise that she fell asleep.

Nor was it especially surprising when she woke to Danny shaking her frantically. Or it shouldn't have been, at least.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

"Wha- What?"

"He's here!" shouted Danny.

Jazz was awake. "Where?" She asked, struggling out of her sleeping bag. Her ghost sense went off, late.

"In-" he broke off to tackle her to the ground. "In here!"

"RV!" said Jazz. She got up and threw Danny over her shoulder, using just a touch of ghostly strength to accomplish the feat. Danny was surprisingly light for someone who was fully alive.

She burst from the tent, dashed to the RV, and jumped inside, pulling the door closed behind her. Danny scrambled to the driver's seat, and activated the anti-ghost defenses.

They sat there, panting, for a moment.

"Now what?" asked Danny.

"Now, I, uh..." she couldn't very well say, 'Now I'm going to sneak away and turn into a ghost in the hopes of fighting this other ghost that I can't see!' Danny was pretty accepting of most things, but that was probably a little too much. "I'm going to go out, and tell Mom and Dad." She wouldn't, actually. They'd probably try to spin the crazy out of Danny again. Instead, she'd duck behind their tent and transform. Hopefully, she'd be able to figure out a way to defeat Youngblood. Spin really fast with the thermos intake on, maybe?

Danny scowled. "What? So they can call me crazy again?" He shook his head. "I found out why I'm the only one that can see him."

"Why?"

"Because adults," he paused, glaring at Jazz, "and people who _think _that they're adults can't see him."

"But I _know _I'm not an adult. Legally, anyway."

"Jazz, the very fact you put 'legal-' Oh my gosh, look!"

Jazz turned to the window. Outside, slowly, but surely, and invisible force was moving their parents' tent towards the river. The river, which looked a lot more threatening in the dark.

Danny lunged for the door. Jazz just barely stopped him. "What are you doing?"

"I have to stop him!"

"How? No, you stay in here with the weapons, I'll go out and warn Mom and Dad."

"But you can't even see him!"

"That's why you need to stay inside, and use the weapons. I can't shoot at him when I can't even see him!"

"And how are you supposed to dodge him when you can't see him?"

Jazz already had the door open. "I'll figure something out!"

Danny's wail of "I've never driven this thing!" was nearly lost as Jazz slammed the door.

She ran towards the retreating tent, hyperaware of the need to hide and find a place to transform. Maybe she could throw herself sideways, behind that rock, and pretend the ghost did it? No, Danny could see Youngblood, that wouldn't-

Jazz was hit by something and tossed sideways, predictably in the opposite direction from where she wanted to go. Ouch! Oh, not good, not good. Maybe if she tried to put herself in a more childlike mindset? Oops! Ow! No, not working.

"Jazz, I can't get the weapons online!" The GAV's PA system filled his voice with static.

"It's the big button!" Jazz shouted back.

The tent was still moving to the river. Jazz got up, and was knocked down again. She hadn't even been hit with an ectoblast, it was just a strategic shove. Behind her, the GAV's weapons started to power up.

Jazz made a run for the tent again as Danny started to fire. Youngblood seemed to be distracted, but not too distracted to harry her. Danny stopped shooting, presumably concerned about hitting her. The tent was way too close to the water.

She took a stinging ectoblast to the leg and went down, levering herself up just in time to see the tent go into the river. Anazingly, it floated. Less amazingly- was that a waterfall?

"Jazz!" That was Danny, still on the PA system. "I know! Just change! Please!"

First off, how did he know? Secondly, did he really think she would just let their parents go over a waterfall?

With a mental flick of the wrist, she tapped her core, and her aura sprang to life around, blindingly bright. Her jumpsuit replaced her pajamas. Her hair turned blue, her eyes green-gold.

She lept into the air, racing downriver to her parents tent. Distantly, she heard the engines of the GAV rev, and she hoped Danny wouldn't accidentally drive into the river.

Something grabbed onto her tail and she twisted and pulled. It felt like rope. Whatever. She pulled the thermos from her belt, and aimed it down the length of the invisible rope. She heard and indignant and childish shriek as she held down the button, the rope first going slack and then disolving.

She resumed her chase of the tent, catching it just before it plummeted over the lip of the waterfall, and brought it back to camp.

The GAV hadn't moved. Danny had, apparently, been unable to figure out the clutch.

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"How long have you known," asked Jazz, once they were once again settled in their tent.

"I don't know," said Danny, shrugging. "A bit?"

"And how long is that?"

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess, um, I didn't strictly _know _know until tonight."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I mean, I started getting suspicious after Vlad's party, and then when you flaked out during spirit week, and, yeah. It isn't exactly as if you do a lot to disguise yourself."

"You don't think that Mom and Dad..?"

Danny actually laughed. "Considering what happened today, you could fight a ghost under their noses and they'd never notice. I wouldn't worry about it." He rubbed his eyes. "I'm going to sleep. First good sleep in a week."

"Love you, little brother."

"Uhuh," said Danny, sleepily. In just a few seconds he was completely asleep.

If only Jazz could drift off that easily.


End file.
